Cause for firing?

[Anonymous]

It's only a slave girl who who ought not rest after she's completed her tasks.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you want her to do more, then you need to be explicit. "Larla, when the kitchen is finished and the kids are all set doing homework, I would appreciate if you tackle these tasks during downtime." And give her the list of things you want accomplished.

Also, what may be obvious to you may not be to her. I wouldn't know how to organize someone else's fridge. You may need to give 2 or 3 pointers or each task you'd like her to tackle in her free time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you want her to do more, then you need to be explicit. "Larla, when the kitchen is finished and the kids are all set doing homework, I would appreciate if you tackle these tasks during downtime." And give her the list of things you want accomplished.

Also, what may be obvious to you may not be to her. I wouldn't know how to organize someone else's fridge. You may need to give 2 or 3 pointers or each task you'd like her to tackle in her free time.

"Larla". PP, you crack me up!

[Anonymous]

I'm with the OP on this one. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to go through a refrigerator and throw out some expired food and what not. Plus, OP mentioned the nanny is highly educated and has a college degree, so it's not like we're dealing with a high school aged ditz here. I do think firing her is very extreme. Definitely bring it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she has done everything that you all agreed she would do when you hired her, then she's done nothing wrong. Just because there is a spare moment (in which she is still providing the supervision you are paying her for) doesn't mean she should busy herself with whatever pleases you, and she did not agree to do upon hiring. Housekeepers command a higher hourly rate. If you want someone who is mostly a housekeeper, higher one and expect to pay for it. You hired an afterschool sitter, and she is doing her job.

Exactly. How is she supposed to know how you want your fridge or office organized??

[Anonymous]

Why don't you hire a maid if you need your house cleaned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another MB here. What was the other child doing while the nanny was reading? You may want to ask the nanny to stay in the area where the kids are in case they need assistance rather than go to the den. I would not have the nanny organizing a closet or cleaning a frig during the children's homework time. If you have some filing or shredding, that would be a good task that she could do in between helping the kids. If she has finished the dinner, the dishes and laundry are done and the kids are working independently, I would let her read in the room the kids were in. This young woman sounds like someone I would want to keep to use for sitting and possible weekends away with DH in the future. Don't take her for granted.

This is a 7th grader we're talking about. I don't know many 7th graders who want or need a nanny to stick around in the room while homework is being completed (granted there are some who do, but it doesn't sound like OP's child is one of them). A child that age is perfectly capable of getting up to get help or calling for help when needed. Personally I would rather read on a comfy couch or chair in a den rather than a dining chair or kitchen stool.
I've always used homework time to get other tasks completed (packing lunches for the next day, prepping dinner, folding laundry, etc...). As long as the nanny is accessible to the children (one of whom is a 7th grader) I don't see why she couldn't be working on other household tasks.

OP: Organizing your office is your responsibility unless the nanny or children use that area on a regular basis or part of your nanny's pay includes responsibilities as a personal assistant. Organizing the fridge is not unreasonable (it's something I typically do every week before or when the Pea Pod order arrives even though it's not listed as one of my responsibilities), but I think you'll need to be specific about that task if it's something you'd like her to do. Light housekeeping is different for every family/nanny. Maybe you could make a list of tasks you consider light housekeeping that can be done during downtime that you could present her with to see which ones she is willing to do. Keep in mind your idea of light housekeeping may differ from hers so it may take some compromise. In the meantime don't fire the poor girl for sitting down to read for a bit AFTER she had completed the tasks she needed to do while your child(ren) worked on homework independently.

Good grief, you'd be shocked at how much downtime I have at my job, but there truly isn't anything else MB wants me to take on. Seriously, she nearly admonished me for washing 5 or 6 breakfast dishes the other morning on a morning when she handled breakfast and school drop-off (I arrived after she had taken the kids to school on this particular day, and she planned to do them upon returning from drop-off b/c she didn't want the kids to be late). So I read, work on the computer, etc... I've almost given up offering to take on other things of b/c she very rarely takes me up on the offer if it doesn't directly relate to the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP this isn't the place to post your question/vent. Too many entitled nannies who balk at the thought of working. They think they deserve to sit and read on your dime and these posts prove it. They're insulted. However, you're absoloutely RIGHT and I'd definitely say something to her about it.

OP?

Seriously, should she sit and read? No. It's working hours, but she is getting paid very low and has a degree. She finished what was required of her, so what now? You expect her to reorganize your house? She is a nanny, not a home manager.

I really want to avoid you OP, you sound like a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm with the OP on this one. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to go through a refrigerator and throw out some expired food and what not. Plus, OP mentioned the nanny is highly educated and has a college degree, so it's not like we're dealing with a high school aged ditz here. I do think firing her is very extreme. Definitely bring it up.

She didn't hire a brain surgeon, she hired a nanny. And it's neither of the two's duty to clean out the OP's refridge. What's with all the posters who feel like nannies are synonymous for personal slave.

[Anonymous]

A nanny can leave whenever she wants. A slave cannot. Please stop referring to free people as slaves. It is offensive to those who had ancestors who were actual slaves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A nanny can leave whenever she wants. A slave cannot. Please stop referring to free people as slaves. It is offensive to those who had ancestors who were actual slaves.

Thanks for the PC lesson.

[Anonymous]

Stop feeding the troll. As if the "whatever luxury I see fit" post wasn't definitive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I wasn't vague I was pretty specific. I mentioned specific areas (home office, den, pantry, fridge, library) what am I supposed to do? Handwrite step by step instructions for her? She's a 23 year old college grad, she's not unintelligent. FWIW, I don't think she's lazy either and the kids love her. But let's get real here, if you're gonna be making $15/hr can't you at least make yourself look busy so I don't feel like I'm flushing my hard earned money down the toilet?!

I'm sorry, but while I love the families that I do PT after school care for, I would never agree to go and organize your home office and such. Those areas contain stuff that is private to you and I don't like having to sort papers that don't belong to me, even if you don't care that I see them. I would agree to do this with the one family that I live with, but only because we are already so close with me living with them and I use stuff like the fridge and pantry on a regular basis with my own items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is not "raising my kids" she is essentially a highly educated homework helper that also cooks dinner for my family

Yes, she is this. But if you cannot go and pickup your OWN kids yourself, then you NEED someone to do it for you. You could hire a housekeeper that will help with childcare (as in picking them up and making snacks/dinner for them) and all the other tasks you would want done can be done by a housekeeper. Combine the position if you are so concerned about the person doing something every minute they are working.

You call it menial work for the housekeeper, but an after school sitter normally does what yours has been doing... Picking the kids up and taking to activities/home/park, helping with homework if needed (or checking it afterwards), helping to get healthy snacks and make dinner if needed, and do bedtime routine if they stay late enough for that. Doing dishes and some kids laundry is usually welcomed, but not always part of the position. Once you start throwing in organizing all this different stuff, that changes the position.

Also, many people do not like to do this for others since what they might find as useful when organizing, might irk the family and not "work" for them. If you like the way you put your food away in the fridge, me coming along and putting it the way I like to put things is not going to help at all. Once you start to tell the person how to organize it (where you want stuff), then you might as well just do it yourself. If you start doing it the way you want to when you go shopping and put new stuff in the fridge, then you don't need anyone else to organize it for you. Your nanny won't know what items you use all the time and what hasn't been used for 9 months, and this kind of knowledge is needed to organize a fridge to be most beneficial to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

You are wrong. She completed all the tasks you asked and as you said she provides great care for your kids. It's not her job to go around your house and straighten up your pantry or refrigerator. And, $15 an hour for 2 kids isn't a ton of money for a nanny with a college degree. Good luck finding another nanny who will be your maid/assistant/nanny for a measly $15 an hour. You sound like a piece of work.

Very well said. Thank you.

Yes, I have no college degree and I make $20/hr for 1-2 kids for after school care.